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Topic Review (Newest First)

12-05-2013 03:51 AM

drewsuf82

So yea I guess I can do a small update Nothing big other than a few shots I liked that I've taken over the last week or so.

It's been a fun few months since the update. Still have random spotty breakouts of BBA but they are getting less and less sporadic and I think that I'm getting there! All of the other algae issues have all but disappeared. I've replaced the PH controller with a functioning one and I've been going through a lot less co2 in the last month or so as well. Plant growth has been great the last month since making that change.

I've also been doing tap for water changes and RODI 0 TDS for top offs. I've found that the tank has shown better growth since doing so and TDS has actually been balanced without the up swings just using tap to top it off (our TDS tap is horrible).

I've also switched over to a heavier fert dosing and have seen a lot of the dust style algae disappear as well. It's unbelievable the growth that I've been having in this tank on a weekly basis. It's been nice doing the RAOKs and trades lately to give back to yall.

Snails continue to be pretty heavy in the tank, however since my acquisition of assassin snails (That I'm working on breeding in another tank) I pull out 3 to 5 snails at lights out over to that tank and I've been seeing a reduction in numbers.

I've also been on a duckweed removal TANGENT and have mostly frogbits at the top, much easier to manage and gives the same benefits

Also have added some ottos which have been cruising about the tank lately as well. Man those little guys are fun to watch dance around a tank on the glass.
Anyway here's some pics

Close up of the java fern the lower leaves are still there because the plantlets on part of them haven't developed roots yet. I've been getting awesome air bubbles on the underside of these leaves since changing the co2 over to the controller

Some pearling action going on with the cabomba

Top down shot looking at a molly and some guppies, sorry camera is hard to focus.

95% free of duckweed. This pond snail approves!

Some more frogbit, I love this plant my project the next few weeks is to be rid of the duckweed 100% to an outdoor porch setup I'm planning! That way I can still provide TPT with raoks of it

The swordtail loves this area of the tank, he's usually right there most of the time until the female comes around and then he's after her. If someone could identify this stem that'd be GREAT

Some growth at the center of the tank, they are almost ready for splitting

Here's the best thing I have for a Full Tank shot at the moment as you can see I've had excellent growth and will be ready for a good root plant thinning soon

So I guess that's it for this update! Thanks for tuning in and if any of you have any suggestions or comments as always they are more than welcome

12-03-2013 07:39 AM

Raymond S.

Well if it's seriously due for an up-date, can we assume that means it's ready for a couple of pictures ?

12-03-2013 03:17 AM

drewsuf82

Thanks wow I guess this is seriously overdue for an update.... As soon as the semester ends

12-02-2013 08:23 PM

Raymond S.

[QUOTE=drewsuf82;2039790]OK so I made the decision that when and IF I ever went high tech that I would start a tank journal....

And...if you want to add some true realistic color, you might consider this. I have no idea how to tell if there's a difference
or they are the same bulb...but...I bought an Odyssea T5 fixture which came/w 2 bulbs that say 6700K.
Then to replace one of the bulbs I ordered from Dts F & S...a True Lumen "Flora" bulb IF this is the same bulb other sites
sell I have no clue. But then why would they all list it as a "Flora Pink" bulb ?
So I think it not the same bulb. In the add they say 6700K(the D F&S site).
Anyway when I replaced one of the bulbs which came/w the fixture/w this one...I have never seen the colors look truer.

Your knowledge and your tank have come a long way! The difference is incredible, so props for that :-)

I'm looking forward to your updates haha

Thanks!!! Yea I seem to be more on the forums than anything else. I'm always reading and trying to help those with anything that I've learned. It's a lot of fun to come here

As I've been digging through the tank (I'm currently on the Val's) and I'm seeing lots of room for improvement for the future. A lot of them are clumped together and that's causing some flow issues and some of my algae issues in the back corner.

I just hope that I don't kill my Vals though, some of them are taking a pretty serious trim and I'm also breaking mother plants off from plantlets to try to encourage some growth, I'll be laying some plant substrate that matches the scheme tonight but I think that this tank's project is going to be a bit more than I thought, I've still got some Vals left to pull

I'm betting that the next 24 hour overhaul is gonna get me in trouble LOL...

Here's some of the mess Just for Fun!!!

This mess was hidden by my mini fiss (note the mini fiss is 100% healthy with no algae except a tuft of bba here and there -- part of the reason for the treatment) This stuff is literally adhered to the rocks, bleach won't even coax it off!

IDK why it's not rotating, but here is where I'm at right now. I couldn't see any of this algae behind all of the plants, now that I know that it's there I can start fighting it, I thought I was having a BBA problem....

Some trimmings thus far, you can see I'm weed eating right now, if it's in the bucket under light and I see algae I'm cutting it off, I'm not treating I'm pruning, I want as much out of this tank as possible and I want it out tonight LOL

You can see here some of the Vals had to be trimmed down pretty heavily....

Other major trim downs

My biggest worry is that the vals are going to melt due to the uprooting and replanting I guess we should keep our fingers crossed! I'm going to be adding the last of my pfertz tabs tonight when I replant it hoping to help them along.

06-25-2013 11:39 PM

AguaTropical

Your knowledge and your tank have come a long way! The difference is incredible, so props for that :-)

I'm looking forward to your updates haha

06-25-2013 09:53 PM

drewsuf82

So yea, I'm totally due to do a major overhaul in this tank, I got some more planted substrate to try to create a more rooted plant friendly environment and will be doing a big trim, I've been having some algae issues (partially I think because I got some plants which weren't happy and I didn't properly QT them)

Here is how I sit before I get to work today....hopefully the fish aren't too mad!

If you look closely you can see the algae on the filter intake for the HOB and there's small smatterings of Green Dust, BBA so I've got some work ahead of me today...

I'm more than likely going to be doing a bit of a rescape while I'm at it so hopefully I'll have some updated pictures for all of you later tonight or tomorrow after the dust clears!

Today's Menu:

Canister Filter Servicing

Intake cleaning on both filteres

Trim out all pieces that are heavily afflicted with any algae

Creating a few caves for the plecos and yo yo loaches

Add some more substrate almost like adding a cap

Weekly 10% water change

Spreading out Vals and replanting them to look more natural

Any other suggestions are welcome!

05-12-2013 03:40 AM

Sajacobs

Thanks for your input.

05-12-2013 03:11 AM

drewsuf82

Yea I'm pretty happy with the growth I've gotten, like I said make sure you add the root tabs though, I do it every so often

05-11-2013 04:24 PM

Sajacobs

Thanks for the reply. Great root growth.

I get the impression most people feel the step up into Eco complete to be with the money. It sounds like you feel the same?

05-11-2013 05:24 AM

drewsuf82

I've had pretty decent luck with it so far, but I couple it with root fert tabs and regular column doses as well.

I just set up another tank with the midnight black floramax but I'm not really planning much in the lines of rooted plants, however I am getting quite healthy roots with this.

This is a 50/50 mix in this tank, one day I'm going to break it down and resubstrate the bottom of it so it's fully eco complete but I think that will be on the next move that I have. Here's a picture of the roots I'm getting in the front

As you can see I don't really do much work with the gravel letting the mulm do it's thing naturally in the tank and I've got enough plant cover in here to keep nitrates really low, even with the fish load and ferts.

05-11-2013 03:19 AM

Sajacobs

Drew
Quick question....do you like floramax as a substrate? I'm thinking of using it and your tank /plants are impressive. If you had to do it again, would you use the floramax?

Thanks

04-13-2013 03:55 AM

drewsuf82

Thanks, yea I'm trimming down the vals and the sword tonight, I found some unhealthy leaves in there so hoping the healthy ones will bounce back.... Some of the vals I trimmed were ~3' It's overdue

I use the CoralLife T5HO but I replaced the bulbs with Daylight Bulbs

Somehow I ended up getting duckweed which magically balanced out a lot of the algae although I still have some green dust on the sides

04-13-2013 03:33 AM

PhillyMurse

Wow, what a huge difference since the last update. It's looking great! When I went high-tech with my 55 I was blown away with the growth. What light are you using? I feel like I just read it on the previous page but can't remember.

04-13-2013 03:05 AM

drewsuf82

So yea totally overdue for an update here.....it's turned into a jungle and is going to be getting a trim down tonight

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